Dealing with Do Do

Yesterday, I prophetically posted that there was a possibility that I would be waylaid by contingencies today in the effort to move the aquaponics project forward.

And so it was that issues at Nanepashemet Telecom as well as some unforeseen personal stuff dominated the day and prevented any attention being applied to the time sensitive project.

Planning for contingencies is an integral part of project management.

In other words,.... "Shit Happens".

Dealing with the Do Do is as important as meeting project milestones.

Consumed by Contingencies

After a morning of aggressively searching out stuff to invoice for at Nanepashemet Telecom, I headed over to the Peabody Warehouse when the AR received a nice little boost.

I stopped at the Danvers Liberty Tree Home Depot first to get some radiator covers for the bathroom renovation then drove to the Warehouse to dismantle the IBC Tote Cages and begin to dissect them into the Aquaponics Grow Beds and Fish Tank.

One of the immediate problems is that the Totes are from different manufacturers and although they are both 275 gallon containers, they are substantially different in the way that they are framed out in their cages.   The dilemma was to establish a way to cut the cages that would make the system look symmetrical and after standing around in a stupor, I finally took my Bosch JigSaw with a metal cutting blade, marked some measurements and cut away.

Three quarters into the first Grow Bed, the metal cuttling jigsaw blade snapped in two.  Naturally, I only had one spare in the jigsaw tool case so I finished cutting with that one, and hightailed it over to Peabody Builders Supply to pick up the baseboard and moulding for the bathroom.

I ordered some more blades through Amazon this evening, but will have to get to Home Depot tomorrow and pick up additional metal cutting blades before I get back to Peabody.

Tomorrow, unless a crisis erupts at Nanepashemet Telecom, I should be able to get to the Warehouse and make all of the final cage cuts. After cutting the plastic tanks to size,  it will be back to Home Depot to pick up 4x4 PT landscape timbers which will be used to level the Grow Beds.

By Thursday, I hope to be heavily into constructing the PVC plumbing that connects the system together, but it will probably be pushed to Friday because I have a feeling that tomorrow will be consumed by contingencies.

The Bell Siphon system has me concerned as I have researched it further.  Apparently these systems have to be tweaked extensively.   I have a feeling that this is going to be a pain in the ass to get itworking properly.

Sometime next week, I hope to be filling the tanks.

Aquaponics Explanation

So many of you Peeps have been asking me how the Aquaponics system will work.  This is a good graphic explanation of the process.

Something has to power the pump which circulates the water in this system... that is what my solar energy installation is for.

The only outside management in a well functioning system would be the proper application of fish food.

I'll be installing the tanks later in the week during lulls in Nanepashemet Telecom action.

Aquaponics Project Development

So today, the battery power system was installed, the trench was dug to connect the solar panels to the power system, and the panels are ready to be connected.  Plus I mowed the lawn and put the second coat of poly on the Bathroom hardwood maple floor.  Over the week, I prepared the shed to accomodate the fish tank.

They don't call me a Mountain of a Man for nothing.

But May is half over and I really want to get this Aquaponics system in high gear by Memorial Day.

Tomorrow, the power system gets tweaked and finalized, and I'd love to get to the Peabody warehouse to start cutting the IBC Totes for the Fish Tank and Grow Beds.  But I also have to get to Kate's Wenham home for a family cookout.

By next weekend, the bathroom could be done, and the Fish tank and Swirl Filter may be in place.

Or maybe not.

Aquaponics WBS

Everything is in place.

It is like Christmas Eve when you have to assemble all of the freaking toys.

All of the equipment minus water, plants and fish present and ready to be assembled.

• Solar Panels
• Battery Bank
• Charge Controller
• AC Power inverter
• All PVC fixtures to assemble three Bell Siphons
• 55 Gallon Blue Barrell for the Swirl Filter
• Two 275 Gallon IBC totes to fabricate into one fish tank and three grow beds.
• PVC fixtures and tubing to assemble all of the drainage and Plumbing
• Aqua Rox Clay stone growing media (a whole shitload of it).
• 1100 GPH water pump.

Now there is nothing to it but to do it.

I've taken the time to item this into a Work Breakdown Structure (WBS) which we Professional Project Managers are trained to do..... yet never really do in real life.

• Assemble Pressure Treated Lumber frames for the Solar Panels.
• Dig a trench from the Solar Panel location to the battery pack and inverter station under the Deck.
• Run the solar cable and grounding wire through PVC Pipe in the trench and power up the system.
• Dig a trench and run PVC conduit for the Pump to AC Inverter Power Cord.
• Cut 1/4 of the Fish Tank IBC Tote and set aside as a grow bed.
• Use the 3/4 remaining IBC Tote for the Fish Tank and drill a hole to connect the pump.
• Assemble the 55 gallon swirl filter and install hole fixtures,
• Run the pump infeed tube from the fish tank to the swirl filter.
• Cut the other IBC Tote into two grow beds utilizing the top and bottom quarters of the tote.
• Set up the grow beds on a pressure treated elevated frame allowing access to the bottom of the beds.
• Cut holes in the beds and install the Bell Siphons.
• Connect the Bell Siphon outlets to draninage to PVC plumbing running back to the Fish tank and spilling into it to oxygenate the fish water.
• Run PVC plumbing from the Swirl Filter to the Grow Beds.
• Wash the Aqua Rox Clay stone against a sifter screen to minimize dust.
• Add the Stone grow media into the grow beds.
• Add a layer of stone to the bottom of the fish IBC tote for appearance.
• Add water to the fish tank
• Turn on the pump to move water to the swirl filter.
• Adjust the infeed and outfeed water flow from the swirl filter to the grow beds.
• Keep filling the system from the fish tank, to the swirl filter to the grow beds until the Bell Siphons start to discharge.
• Monitor water filling until the fish tank, the swirl filter and the grow beds are in balance.
• Add ammonia to the fish tank to begin the nutrient cycle.
• Add plants to the grow media.
• Cycle the system for a few days.
• Go fishing for Golden Shiners.
• Introduce the fish to the fish tank and establish feeding cycles.
• Trim out the tanks and grow beds in wood.
• Tend to the grow beds and care for the fish.
• Monitor pH and tweak to find out why plants aren't growing and fish are dying.
• Become discouraged and disenchanted... beginning a spiral of self loathing.
• Watch pitifully as the entire thing turns into a quagmire in my backyard.
• Endure catcalls, taunts and various levels of vituperation from former friends and loved ones.
• Abandon and dump the evidence.
• Deny that you ever even contemplated such a project.

The  End.

Moving Rox

The FedEx guy breaking down this pallet said there were 40 bags, each with 50 lbs of Aqua Rox Clay Stone Grow Media.

So it actually doesn't look that bad on the front lawn.

But by the fourth or fifth bag that he handed to me, he asked, "Does your Wife know about this?"

I didn't catch his name, but I don't think he is an FB Friend.

He earned a good tip for helping me transfer those bags.... now I have to make a final move to get them under the deck before the day gets too late.

A Little Aliteration

So Peeps...
I bought 40 cubic feet of this fine grow media product and am set to take FedEx delivery sometime tomorrow.

The need is really for only 27 cubic feet, but there was a significant discount to buy a 40 cubic foot pallet, so that's the direction we took.

Course, that's about 2000 lbs of this specialized clay rock.... which is 1 ton for those of you with a conversion function on your Hewlett Packard.

I can just envision Joanne with her tender inquiry tomorrow.."What the HELL is all that SHIT in the Driveway??????"

When she finds out that it is for the Aquaponics Project which she now knows virtually nothing about, I'm sure she will see the virtue in a short period of minimum yard clutter.

Or maybe not....

I can always have Katelyn console her....

Or maybe not....

Whatever.   Tomorrow the rubber meets the road and the Aquaponics way of life will be cresting upon us.   A new liftetime of vegetables and plants grown in a harmonic cycle of nutrient exchange with Fluttering Finned Fish.

Or maybe I'm Phucked.

Saturday Multi-Tasking

I'm starting to believe that multi-tasking is big time Bullshit.

You can only do one thing at a time.... and for the most part, you can only get one thing done in a day.

So here I go again, planning a highly productive weekend, when in reality only one or two things will really get done.

What our minds can conceive, our bodies can achieve.... but with a considerable time lag.

Whatever....

Tomorrow, I have a hard stop at 3:30 PM when I will take the S550 out to Lexington, MA and attend my grandson, Ethan's, baseball game.

Before then my hope is to complete the hardwood floor installation in my half bath and also transport the solar power system from Peabody to Marblehead.   That means that the floor gets done by 10:00AM and the Solar system is delivered by 2:00PM....

Not wholly optimistic, but doable.

Perplexing Points for Pondering Propagation

So I called the Massachusetts Division of Fisheries and Wildlife to ask about a permit which would allow the propagation of native fish.   The Code of Massachusetts Regulations indicates that Bluegill could be raised with a permit but absolutely bans Tilapia from being kept in MA.

The well meaning staffer at the state office recommended that I use Tilapia for the system, and said that Bluegill is actually not domestic to Massachusetts.

The verbal direction is diametrically different than how I read the code.

Then, one guy at the state agency suggested that I just go to a bait store and buy live golden shiners.... and he emphasized that I would not need a permit at all.

Peeps... I'm trying to do the right thing here... maintain the public trust by not violating any of the Commonwealth's laws.   I just want to get fish to pooh in the tank so that I can grow vegetables.  And it would be a shame if I couldn't use fish that live in the pond naturally just a mile away.

If all else fails, I can always go to PetSmart and buy some Goldfish.... but that just doesn't seem to be a cool way to go.  It's not the money.    I could buy a fishing license for $27 bucks, travel to a secret spot that Rich Mah knows about, and legally catch and transport 20 shiners or so.  After paying for lunch and beers with Rich, that would be a lot more money than buying Goldfish.

Meanwhile, I'm taking delivery on the Aqua Rocs grow media which is being delivered to FedEx in North Reading where I will pick it up on Monday.   That is the last piece of the puzzle left and I will be putting the system in the ground next weekend.

Mah-velous Plan

So I'm waiting for orders to come in from McMaster-Carr, Allied Aqua, and Amazon... after which the only thing lacking to assemble the aquaponics system will be fish, plants and water.

Rich Mah, an old classmate and current FB Friend, has volunteered to help me fish for local Bluegill stock to populate the fish tank,  If you can believe his Facebook posts, Rich is a killer freshwater fisherman, and I have offered to get him onto the Lagavulin and fish for some Stripers in the salt after the Bluegills have been stocked.

I think about twenty Bluegill would be enough.  Rich thinks it's a no brainer.

That is one hell of a win-win deal from my standpoint.

I order a lot of stuff on-line, and have never had an issue to date.  Amazon is a great company, and McMaster-Carr has every piece part that you can imagine.  You stay up late at night, theorizing what nut, bolt or hardware fixture that you may need, get on-line to McMaster-Carr, hit the button and the thing shows up in forty eight hours..... sometimes faster.   And the unbelievable thing as that McMaster doesn't ask for a credit card.  They ship the stock, then send you a bill.

Allied Aqua is a dedicated aquaponics supply house out of the Kansas City, Mo. area.  Their prices and selection seem superior after many nights of Googling for aquaponics resources.  I bought the pump, clay rock growing media and numerous gaskets and PVC fixtures from them and am anxious to see if the quality and service is what I anticipate.

Meanwhile the solar energy system to power the pump is complete and cooking away at the Nanepashemet Peabody warehouse along with the two 275 gallon IBC totes that I bought from Tropical Juice in Salem.  Sitting there also is all of the PVC pipes and fixtures from Home Depot that will be fabricated into the water distribution system and the bell siphon units,

I told Rich that he will get the call in late May to transfer Bluegill from Redd's Pond to a life of leisure and fish happiness in the Nanepashemet Aquaponics Tank.

UPDATE:
Nix on this.  It is illegal to keep live fish from a pond in Massachusetts per 321 CMR 4:00.
Thank God that we live in the land of the free.

Fish for Bluegill

NATIVE BLUEGILL  (Lepomis macrochirus)

The preferred alternative for the fish species in my aquaponics system is locally caught Bluegill.

Now that the grow media and pump has been ordered and in delivery, all of the components except the plants and the fish. 

 Everything should be assembled by the end of May and then the system water will be cycled with plants prior to adding the fish.  I will wait under that time for the final determination..... fish for Bluegill or order Trout.

UPDATE:
Nix on this.  It is illegal to keep live fish from a pond in Massachusetts per 321 CMR 4:00.

Thank God that we live in the land of the free.

Turning to Trout

I've decided to order twenty 6" Rainbow Trout to stock the Aquaponics fish Tank.

Need to check if the New Hampshire trout hatchery will deliver sometime in May.
http://www.hyonahilltrout.com/trout.htm

The choice centered around Bluegill, Trout, Goldfish, Koi, or Tilapia.

Bluegill - no local sources.  I could fish for these myself at Redd's Pond, but that would have been time consuming and you can't be sure what some of my Marblehead Liberal Neighbors would squawk about if they saw me hauling away 5 gallon pails of live fish.

Tilapia - a favorite for aquaponics, but it is a warm water fish and I intend to keep the fish outside in the cold weather.

Goldfish - widely available at local and on-line sources, but boring and the trout are actually less expensive.

Koi - cool fish but wicked expensive.  They are probably a good choice despite this because of their longevity - 20 yrs or more.

Rainbow Trout - hardy cold water fish.  Very pretty to look at.  would make a tasty meal if we elected to harvest them.  And if my research is correct, I can have them delivered rather inexpensively from HY-ON-A HILL TROUT FARM in Plainfield, NH.

 So Rainbow Trout gets the nod.  I feel they are more resilient than Brook Trout and better to look at than Brown Trout.

Positive Outlook

Late April Weekend.

April is an important month.  Because if you live in New England, the best months of the year are June, July, August, and half of September.  So you don't want to be burdened with job and household jobs during these months.  You want to be fishing, riding your Bike and doing anything but house chores.  The time to get this stuff done is April and May.  And April is half gone.

This weekend looms important per the above standard.  I don't want to be painting, or building stuff or anything else once June kicks in, so it's imperative that I get a shitload of stuff done in April, and this is one of the last weekends left.

So, the choices for this weekend are as follows.....

• Rake the yard and get all of the debris to the dump.
• Uninstall the bathroom and get the wall ready to paint.
• Finish the Solar Pump installation and move from Peabody to under the Deck.
• Cut the IBC Totes for the growing beds and the fish tank.

The old Me would think that all of this can get done this weekend.  I would be ecstatic to get three out of four.

PC Pussification

Would somebody please tell Curt Schilling that freedom of speech is dead in this country????

How dare he say the type of hate speech that offends Trannies by criticizing their right to pee as they see fit!!!!

If there is a God in Heaven, Schilling will be immediately removed from his sensitive position  as a Baseball Analyst on ESPN.

We may be Pussified, but at least we can stay PC!!

Remove Schilling before even one more Trannie has to endure his insensitive, hateful opinions.

Baseball analysis deserves no less.

BTW.... here's what really offends me these days.  I so sick and tired of the Phoney Liberal Bullshit doled out by assholes who make major issues out of stuff like allowing trannies to go to the Girl's Room.

It is aggravating that we are allowing our society to become oppressed  by Pussies intent on pushing their egotistical PC crap.

If you don't like what Schilling says, don't listen to the Phucking ESPN Baseball show.
Stupid Pussies.

Foward with Aquaponics

So this week, in the midst of championing the business success of Nanepashemet Telecom, your MOAM got some milestones checked off in the real important category.... the Aquaponics Project.

The solar power experiment came off without a hitch at the Peabody warehouse, where two 100 Watt Photo Voltaic Solar Panels are supplying current to two 12 volt 100 Amp Hour batteries.  The connected AC Power inverter drives shop tools with ease.

I will use this off grid power system to fuel the 92 watt 1100 gallon per hour water pump which will be the heart of the aquaponics project.  Have not bought this submersible  pump yet but there is a huge selection available for less than a hundred bucks.

Then on a whim, I was on Highland Ave. in Salem last Wednesday and dropped into the  Tropical Juice Plant which had advertised the availability of 250 gallon IBC food grade totes about six months ago on Craig's List.  Drove away with two of these babies in great condition for $100 each, which I felt was a great price for items of this quality.

So now, I have to pick up the PVC items tomorrow morning at Home Depot in order to make three Bell Siphon systems, which I can build from plans that I found on the Web.  The IBC Totes have to be disected into four containers.... one for the fish, and three to contain grow medium for the plants.

I've laid out the whole system where the conventional garden was that the groundhog ate in one night last July.... have not disclosed this to other members of the family however. I've found that these types of disclosures are best made after the system is already in place.

BTW, I'm going to trim this all out in pine and the final result will look the balls.




The below Bell Siphon system should be done sometime next week.

Model # C4703
Internet # 100116710
Store SKU # 232483
3/4 in. CPVC CTS Slip x FPT Female Adapter	4	$       1.18	$       4.72
Model # C4704HD34
Internet # 100347148
Store SKU # 187747
3/4 in. CPVC CTS Slip x MPT Male Adapter	4	$       0.44	$       1.76
Model # 96735
Internet # 100299374
Store SKU # 584130
#18 O-Rings (10-Pack)	4	$       2.27	$       9.08
Model # 57471
Internet # 202280935
Store SKU # 193712
3/4 in. x 10 ft. PVC Schedule 40 Plain-End Pipe	10	$        2.93	$      29.30
Model # 531095
Internet # 100161921
Store SKU # 193860
3 in. x 10 ft. PVC Schedule 40 DWV Plain-End Pipe	1	$      17.74	$      17.74
Model # 531137
Internet # 100161954
Store SKU # 193852
2 in. x 10 ft. PVC Sch. 40 Plain-End Pipe	1	$        8.87	$        8.87
Model # PVC021161600HD
Internet # 203811678
Store SKU # 232777
2 in. PVC Sch. 40 Socket Cap	3	$        1.32	$        3.96
Model # C406-007
Internet # 100347455
Store SKU # 187976
3/4 in. Schedule 40 PVC 90-Degree Elbow	24	$        0.40	$        9.60
Model # PVC021081600HD
Internet # 203811562
Store SKU # 536636
1-1/2 in. x 3/4 in. PVC Sch. 40 Reducer Bushing	3	$        1.54	$        4.62

Downgrading the Truth.

My Liberal friends tend to downgrade this.

Documenting the Lapse

It's been a little while since the last post.

So what have I been doing while not Posting in this pathetic Blog, you may or may not ask?

Although the overwhelming response is that you really don't give a rat's ass what I do... I'm going to tell you anyway.   I mean.... what the hell are you continuing to read this for anyway????

So lately, I've been....

• Playing the Banjo when Joanne goes to bed.
• Watching the OJ series.
• Working on my solar energy portable power system.
• Making Pizza.
• Worrying about the health of older relatives.
• Laboring over Nanepashemet Telecom spreadsheets.
• Waiting for snow to melt.
• Not exercising.
• Going to sleep at night while looking at weird Youtube videos about aliens, fake moon landings, and other stuff.
• Planning a South Africa trip.
• Taking Henry to the vet.
• Obsessively posting about the evil H. on Facebook.
• Watching Fox talk about the POTUS race 24/7.
• Thinking about remodeling the bathrooms.
• Getting aggravated by Liberals on Network Media.

..... and other stuff that I don't feel like mentioning to you.

So you can see that a Blog lapse was entirely justified.

Damnable PP

Peeps....
Lately I've been involved in some emotional exchanges on Facebook regarding abortion.

I realize that this is a no-win topic.  But it is a discussion that drags at the core of  the human race.

When you have federally funded organizations like  Planned Parenthood advocating for the sale of human fetus parts, to stay silent in my mind is akin to knowing that the Nazis gassed millions, but remaining mum.

And make no mistake about it.... I believe that those who operate the Planning Parenthood debacle are as glib about human life as Dr. Josef Mengele.

That said, I am Pro-Choice regarding abortion.

I believe that a women has the right to put the fetus in her body to death.

It is a legal right.... but before you read on.... being legal is not the same as being moral.  The Nazi's legally gassed Jews and Gypsies..... a moral abomination.

The State has the right to exact capital punishment on humans... under legal processes....and a women has the right to kill her fetus in our society.

Both should be done only after intensive examination, and never casually.

When you look at a sonogram of a one month fetus, and see the heart beating.... you have to be a savage not to acknowledge that this a human life.   To exterminate this life, because it is inconvenient... is barbaric.

Yet barbarism is not foreign to humans.  Less than 200 years ago, it was legal in the United States to treat people as property and own slaves.  There were some in the United States that were passionate about the right to own slaves, and were willing to go to war to maintain that right.

Margaret Sanger, the founder of Planned Parenthood, started the organization as a means to cull the African American population, which she viewed as "human weeds".  I believe that the people who advocate casual abortion are the incarnation of the proponents of slavery in this country.  Whether it is a coincidence that they both are Democrats is notwithstanding.

I recently came across a Facebook post, wishing that Donald Trump's mother had aborted him.

It is this level of glibness on the topic that is wrong and nauseating.

Pro-Choice women passionately cry out that no one has a right to tell them what they can do with their own body.  I agree.  That is their solemn responsibility to judge whether they have a moral standing and reason to kill the fetus growing within them.

But to treat the extinguishing of human life as a matter of convenience or birth control, particularly in the context of abortion factories like Planned Parenthood, is damnable.